For Openers
Houdini Escapes Seance
Iff aybe he was
afraid to travel
. . . perhaps he
was watching
the World Series game .. .
maybe he wanted to stay out
of Dearborn to avoid the
management shakeup at the
Ford Motor Company.
Whatever the reason, Harry
Houdini, the famed Jewish
magician and "escapologist,"
was a no-show again at the
Official Houdini Seance, held
each year since his death on
Oct. 31, 1926, at age 52.
The setting was perfect: a
mild Halloween night at
Dearborn's Henry Ford
Harry Houdini
Museum. An impressive group
of Houdini experts, from as
far away as Seattle and Arizona, formed an "inner circle" to pro-
vide energy to contact him. Included were his wife's niece, his
brother's grandson and a mysterious "lady in black," who has
attended nearly every seance through the years.
An empty chair waited for Houdini. Some of his personal items
were on the table. Everyone held hands in true seance fashion,
while a medium, the Rev. Ray Fraser of Westland, implored
Houdini to show signs of his presence. "We made a serious
attempt . . . it's unfortunate we didn't contact him," Fraser said.
Sid Radner, 81, the Jewish owner of a Massachusetts rug com-
pany, has organized the seances since the 1940s. "If it were possi-
ble for anyone to return, Houdini believed he could find a way,"
said Radner.
Dr. Morris Young, 92, a Jewish retired ophthalmologist, said he
met the magician in 1925 and remembers him as very patriotic.
"Tonight, I felt him saying, 'Buy bonds . . . I'm proud to be an
American'," Dr. Young said.
The Hungarian-born Houdini, whose original name was Ehrich
Weiss, grew up in Appleton, Wis., where his father was a rabbi.
His career as a magician and escape artist began as a teenager.
On Oct. 24, 1926, he arrived in Detroit from Montreal with
severe appendicitis. He performed at the Garrick Theater, then
collapsed. Doctors at Grace Hospital removed his appendix the
next day, but peritonitis had set in. He died on Oct. 31. ❑
GRAPEJEWZ
—Bill Carroll, special writer
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Yiddish Limericks
A jilted man wept, "Woe is me!
She's faithless and low as can be.
I thought that this maiden
Was made in Ganaiden.*
Gehenim's** more like it, I see."
— Martha Jo Fleischmann
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more cauti,otis about life afier the
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www.detroi ewlShitewutont news
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) Sonding
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Jewish, Muslim college students find
some unity in shared dining hall.
www.detroitjewishnews.com/news
) Jewish Renewal
Jewish leaders chart renewal path for
Eastern European communities.
vvww.d.etroitjewishnews.com/news
* The Garden of Eden
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quotables
"When you look in the mirror, you see your
potential. When you look at your children, you
see your reality."
—Rabbi Lawrence Kelemen, an American-
born Israeli, in a talk at the Jewish Community
Center in West Bloomfield, on the significance of
parents being good role models for their children.
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"We cannot let those who choose to be perpe-
trators of evil keep us from doing the kinds of
things we know we must do in the Jewish com-
I munity — like having tonight's dinner."
—Robert Aronson, Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit CEO and master of cere-
monies of the Yeshiva Beth Yehudah's 87th
1 anniversary dinner in Detroit.
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The Ronald S. Lauder school,
which has 700 students in
kindergarten through 12, is
one of three Jewish day schools
in Budapest.
) Emmy Winners
Holocaust-themed TV shows win 4
Emmy awards.
www.detroitjewishnews.com/news
) What's Eating Harry
Kirsbaum?
Why he's driving to Florida instead
of flying.
www.d.etroitjewishnews.com/opin
ion
— Joshua Paul Cane,
JN Online Web producer
1 1/9
2001
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